Thursday, April 1, 2010

God's Own Patriotic Comfort Food

Maybe it's the rainy weather, but this week I've been craving comfort foods: baked beans, mashed potatoes, and sautéed greens. American Chop Suey is a hearty staple dish at church potlucks and school cafeterias. Traditionally made with macaroni elbows, tomato sauce, onions, and ground beef, a bowl of American Chop Suey fills you up and warms you from the inside out.

In a recent discussion with my husband, who is From Away, I learned that only New Englanders call this vaguely Italian hodgepodge by a Chinese name. To most Americans it's simply Macaroni and Beef, though oddly, midwesterners call it Johnny Marzetti. By any name, it's a meal that satisfies our deepest human need for protein, starch, and salt all mixed up in a bowl. (I'm reminded of my father-in-law, on his most recent visit to Maine, attempting in vain to order Chili Size, a similar slop with a Tex-Mex twist that's revered throughout the southwest.)

Instead of ground beef, this healthier vegan version of American Chop Suey uses crumbled tempeh (use something like Morningstar Farms Veggie Crumbles if you prefer) and an assortment of chopped vegetables. Even if you can eat gluten, try quinoa pasta here; sturdier than rice or wheat, it adds even more protein to this classic stick-to-your-ribs dish.

19 comments:

I'm from Philadelphia and my father used to make this when my brothers and I were kids, and he called it American chop suey. He said he learned to make it when he was a cook in the army. My mother hated it and would never eat it but we kids loved it and would beg him to make it. I never realized it was a "real" dish that other people had heard of. Who knew?

Even though we don't have to avoid gluten, our pantry is stocked with quinoa pasta because we prefer it to wheat pasta. My brother is coming to visit us tonight — maybe I should make this and jog his memory!

Weird - I totally know the dish you're talking about, but I've never heard it referred to as any of these names, especially Johnny Marzetti! And I'm from the Midwest. ;) Here in Minnesota, we just call this Hamburger Hot Dish. Haha. Your version looks & sounds delicious!!